Friday, October 14, 2016

Living "App-ily" Ever After

As regular readers of The Randy Report know, I spend a lot of time traveling. Sometimes it’s accompanying my handsome hubby on a press trip to New York City or Los Angeles with his clients. Or often it’s a quick trip in and out of LA to take care of my rental property there.

A lot of the time I’m living life as a guest in these cities, so I need a little help with the little daily things like getting across town or getting a decent meal.

There are a huge variety of apps you can download to them that are absolutely essential to everyday life. Here are some of the key apps I use to make “life on the road” a bit easier.

Sometimes for a quick trip to LA, I fly in and use Uber to get where I’m going. As most folks know, it offers a variety of options for travelers, whether UberX for low cost, or a larger, high end ride at premium price. You create an account with payment options like your credit card or PayPal, and then enjoy your Uber ride and automatically be charged when you get where you're going. Plus, you’re emailed a receipt for your travel expenses file. Couldn’t be easier!

Taking care of my rental property often means I need some help, and fast. Handy is a great free app for iOS and Android that allows you to search for and book a number of cleaners, handymen, plumbers and contractors of all kinds so that they can perform home and apartment cleaning services for your home. The service covers most of the big cities in United States, such as NYC, Chicago, and LA, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom. There is a money back guarantee, and you can access customer service for any and all questions and concerns.

“Cleaning out the townhouse” means just that. Including the kitchen. So, I rarely have food on hand to cook. When I get hungry, and I’m not feeling like taking a walk, I use Seamless - a free food and drink app that allows you to order food from local restaurants to be delivered right to your door. It is the perfect app for those who are too lazy to take a walk to their favorite dining establishment or who don’t feel like calling their order. With a few taps, you can quickly and easily order food to have delivered to your location.

Even though I have a lot of music on my phone and laptop, I always like having the latest and greatest on call. Spotify is a must-have for any music lover who prefers to stream their music. Create your own station by searching for a specific artist, album or song. There’s a premium version that lets you listen ad-free and listen to music while offline, or use the free option. It is available for iOS and Android.

Life on the road doesn’t have to be that difficult, especially when you have help right at your fingertips.

Feel free to share your favorite apps folks may not know about in the comments section.